


We've All Done Stupid Things

by KatieComma



Series: Uncle Steve Ficlets [2]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Family, Family Feels, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Team as Family, Teenage Drama, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 14:05:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15366279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieComma/pseuds/KatieComma
Summary: Grace shows up on Steve's doorstep drunk and upset.





	We've All Done Stupid Things

**Author's Note:**

> I'm only on season 5 of this show so far... so... I don't know what's happening when Grace actually gets older, but this scene has been stuck in my head since the end of season 1 when Steve and Danny have the conversation about when Grace will learn what a hangover is:
> 
> Grace: What's a hangover?
> 
> Danny: It's uh... you'll figure it out, you'll learn about it one day when you're... what? 35?
> 
> Steve: 35... 30... 16?
> 
> Danny: 40 years old.

The knock at the door rouses Steve from a deep sleep. Seal instincts are never far below the surface and he rolls out of bed onto his feet in no time at all.

The clock reads 01:00.

Steve grabs a shirt and some pants from the floor, hastily pulls them on, and heads downstairs.

The knocking is getting more frantic, and Steve starts to worry.

He pulls the door open to find a sixteen year old Grace fully prepared to continue assaulting his door with her knuckles. She all but tumbles into his arms, and he hugs her tight. Steve watches as a cab pulls away from his house.

“Uncle Steve!” She calls out as she slips her arms around his chest and pulls herself in tight.

“Gracie?” Steve asks, putting a hand up to hold her head tight against his chest and stroke her hair. “Gracie? What’s the matter? Is it-” He falters, because he always thought he’d get bad news about Danny from HPD, not from Grace. “Is it Danny?” He finally gets it out. “Is something wrong?”

Grace shakes her head against his chest. “Danno’s fine,” she mumbles.

“Then what are you doin’ here Gracie?” Steve asks. 

She’s still holding him tight, so he doesn’t let go. Something’s got her upset and he’s going to comfort her until she’s ready to talk about it.

“I was scared, and I didn’t know where to go,” she replies.

“Scared of what?” Steve asks.

“Danno’s gonna be so mad at me,” there are tears in her voice.

“No, no, no,” Steve says, “Danno could never be mad at you about anything. Come on, let’s get inside huh?” Steve backs up, dragging her into the house and closing the door behind them.

When Grace steps back from him and looks up into his face, that’s when he smells it: alcohol.

“Grace, are you drunk?” Steve asks, stooping a little so he can look into her eyes.

Face level with hers the booze stench hits him like a grenade and he takes a step back. “That’s a yes,” he says without waiting for her answer. Steve takes another step back and seriously considers pacing the floor. Danny is definitely going to be mad. Especially since Grace came to Steve first. Steve’s torn between calling Danny immediately, and giving Grace some time to sober up.

In the end, he sides with Grace.

“Let’s make you some coffee, alright?” He asks, leading her toward the kitchen.

She’s quiet, her face wet with tears. No doubt her drunk mind is dwelling on just how badly she’s disappointed her dad.

The bright lights of the kitchen reveal that Grace is dressed for a party: hair done, bit of makeup, nice dress. She’s really growing up. Steve’s on Danny’s side: she shouldn’t be allowed to do that. 

She sits at the counter, her eyes trained on her fingers which tangle together and pick at each other. She won’t even look Steve in the face.

Steve starts to wonder what exactly at this party got her so upset, and then he starts to worry about what got her so upset.

Steve leans on the counter to try to get a look at her face. “Grace,” he says gently, “are you ok?” Start simple. No point throwing around wild theories and getting her more upset. But if anybody’s hurt Grace, they’re not going to last the night.

“I’m fine,” she says, a little strong; The loud aggressive slur of the drunk. She sounds more than a little like Danny, and Steve almost smiles. She still doesn’t look him in the face.

“Look at me Gracie,” Steve’s being kind and soft, but puts a little command behind the words. When she still doesn’t look up he takes her chin in his fingers and tips her head up.

Her eyes are red from crying, makeup starting to run, a pout puckering her lips.

“You can tell me,” Steve says gently. “But I need to know if you’re ok.”

“I said I’m fine Uncle Steve!” She says angrily, before immediately recovering with, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry Grace,” Steve replies, letting her chin go so she can look back down at her hands. “You just got me wondering what has you so upset here.”

“I’m all drunk,” Grace says, sloppily motioning toward herself.

Steve can’t hold back the smile this time and he’s glad that she’s still looking down at the countertop. He doesn’t want her to feel foolish. “I can see that,” he replies, once he has himself under control.

“That’s it,” she says, “that’s all. That’s all there is.” She’s starting to drunkenly babble now. “I’m all drunk and Danno’s gonna be so mad at me.” At the last few words her voice and face crumple and she’s crying again. 

Steve’s heart breaks a little, and the smile he couldn’t keep from his face disappears immediately. He’s around the counter in no time hugging her to his chest again, cradling her head there.

“Everything’s fine Gracie,” Steve hopes he sounds comforting. “Everything’s going to be just fine. Danno is not gonna be mad at you.”

Grace weeps into his t-shirt, soaking it through. Steve doesn’t care.

“You’re gonna call ‘im aren’t choo?” She asks finally, once her tears, and a little snot, have all been deposited on Steve’s shirt.

“Grace,” he says the word like it’s a whole sentence, a sentence that says: I’m sorry, but you know I have to.

“I know, I know,” she says. She sits back on the bar stool and looks up at Steve. Her face is a mess: makeup everywhere, eyes bloodshot, wet streaks smeared across her cheeks. “Last thing I want is for Danno to be disappointed in me.” She pauses before she adds: “He’s gonna be so disappointed.” He face scrunches up in sadness again, but she’s got no tears left and nothing comes out but a few coughed sobs.

Steve sits on the stool next to hers and hunches over so they’re face to face. He takes her cheeks in his hands and wipes some tears away with his thumbs. “Listen to me Grace,” he says it sternly. “Danno loves you. Nothing is ever going to change that.” Conspiratorially he adds: “Your father will never tell you this, but he did the same thing when he was your age.”

Her eyes light up a little. “You think so?” She asks.

Steve smiles at her. “I know so kiddo.” Before letting her go, while he’s still looking into her eyes, he asks again a different way: “I gotta know though Grace. That’s all you’re upset about, right? Worried about your dad? Nothing else?”

Finally a smile breaks the surface. It doesn’t quite find her eyes yet, but she smiles. “That’s it. That’s all,” she says. And he believes her.

Steve sighs out like he’s been waiting to breathe since she fell through the front door, tucks her hair behind her ears and goes back to pour some coffee for both of them. Who needs sleep anyway?

He slides a cup of coffee toward Grace, along with a glass of water and a box of tissues. “Drink the whole glass of water first,” he instructs, “then sip at the coffee. You’ll feel better.”

“You gonna call Danno?” She asks.

“In a bit,” Steve says. “Let’s get you figured out first.”

He leaves her in the kitchen drinking her water, and digs around in his room until he finds an old pair of pyjamas, from which old girlfriend he’s not sure. All that matters is that they’re casual and comfortable: drawstring pants and a t-shirt. They’ll be big on Grace, but they’ll work. He leaves the pyjamas on the spare room bed, and a small garbage can on the floor at the head of it.

Back in the kitchen he finds her wavering on her chair, the entire glass of water gone, but the coffee barely touched.

“Uncle Steve?” She yawns through the words. “I’m really tired alluva sudden.”

“No problem Gracie,” he says. “Spare bed’s all made up, pyjamas are there for you.”

“I can stay here?” She asks. “What about my dad?”

“You let me deal with Danno,” Steve says before shuffling her off to bed.

Once he stops hearing footsteps, and the creak of the spare room bed indicates she’s crashed, Steve grabs his cell and his cup of coffee and heads out onto the lanai. He holds the phone in his hand, listening to the waves and the wind in the trees, but he doesn’t dial right away. Words come and go and rearrange in his brain while he decides exactly what to tell Danny.

Finally, he throws back the last sip in his coffee cup and speed dials.

The first call rings and rings and goes through to voicemail. Steve calls again.

Third ring. “Mmmmmhello?” Danny’s voice is heavy with sleep.

“Hey Danny,” Steve tries not to sound too chipper and wide awake, knowing it will just annoy his partner.

“Steve?” Danny asks, coming up from sleep, his voice sounding more alert.

“Yeah,” Steve says simply, all the words he had planned gone out of his head. “I uh… I’ve gotta talk to you about something.”

“Steven, do you have any idea what time it is?” The annoyed tone is there, just slower and more drawn out than normal.

“I do actually,” Steve says, “it’s about 02:00.” Always military time. One habit he can’t break.

“Is it? About 02:00? Really Mr Seal?” Danny’s picking up pace now, but his voice is still creaky with sleep. “What the hell could you possibly have to talk to me about at two in the morning?”

“It’s about Grace actually,” Steve says, trying to keep his voice calm so Danny won’t panic. It doesn’t work.

“Grace?” His voice is alert. “My daughter Grace? I’m going to go ahead and assume it isn’t something bad, because you would sound more worried if that were the case. But calling me at two am does not instill a sense of calm in me Steven.”

“She’s fine,” Steve says.

“I know she’s fine,” Danny says. “If she weren’t fine I would know. I know she’s fine. Don’t tell me she’s fine when I already know that.”

“She’s uh…” Steve falters. “She’s here at my place. Seems like she went to a party tonight, and maybe had a little bit to drink, and she showed up here about an hour ago in a cab. She’s asleep and she’s fine.”

The line is silent.

“Danny?”

“What is she doing there?” Danny asks, his voice cold. The shortness of the sentence has Steve worried.

“Well Danny,” Steve tries not to sound like a dick, but it doesn’t really work out that way, “she was worried you’d be mad at her, so she came here.”

“Oh, she did? She was worried that I’d be mad that my sixteen year old daughter went out to a party and got drunk?” Danny is starting to rant. “I can’t imagine why she would be worried that I would be upset about such a thing-”

“Danny. Danny. Danny. Danny!” Steve finally yells the last one into the phone to get his partner to shut up. “Seems as though she might have been right.”

“I’m coming over,” Danny says. “I’ll be there in ten.”

Before Steve can say anything the line goes dead. Just great.

 

 

Danny uses his key to come in the front door. Steve is waiting, leaned against the wall. He doesn’t want Danny storming upstairs and pulling Grace out of bed. Danny’s thrown on mismatched clothes: sweatpants and a t-shirt. His hair is a tangled mess.

Steve puts his hands up to stop Danny from moving further into the house, and then puts a finger to his lips to indicate he should also be quiet.

He takes Danny by the shoulder and pushes him toward the lanai, outside, where they can argue all they want and be less likely to wake up Grace. As they pass the stairs, Danny’s gaze lingers there, full of hurt, and the desire to make sure his daughter is alright. But Steve steers him away with steady hands.

Danny, of course, starts first as soon as they are outside. “I would very much like to know why my daughter is here, in your house, right now at three in the morning.” Steve can see the hurt and worry in Danny’s eyes.

Grace is the closest thing Steve has to a daughter, so while he doesn’t fully understand Danny’s concern, he gets close to it.

“She’s upset Danny,” Steve says.

Danny’s face is pale and sobered. “Is she ok? Did anyone hurt her? She’s ok right?” Danny’s mind immediately went to the same place Steve’s did. When you work homicide cases constantly, it tends to become a habit to think of the worst of humanity at any given time.

Steve nods his head and puts a hand to Danny’s shoulder. “She said she’s fine,” Steve reassures, “I believe her. She’s upset because she doesn’t want to disappoint you.”

Danny turns away from Steve and walks a little toward the ocean, running his hands through his hair and smoothing it back.

“She’s ok Danny,” Steve tries to offer consolation, but it’s weak.

Danny walks to one of the chairs near the beach and falls into it. “Yeah, she’s ok,” his voice is heavy. “But she’s ok _here._ She didn’t come to me. She came to you. My own daughter wouldn’t come to me when she needed somebody.”

Steve sinks into the chair next to Danny. “Listen man, didn’t you ever do something you were ashamed of? Stupid teenager stuff that you didn't want your parents to know about?” He asks. “Look at it this way: Grace got herself into a situation that she wasn’t comfortable with, that upset her, and she was strong enough to get up and walk away. That’s what’s important here.”

“You know? I know you’re right,” Danny says, leaning forward and putting his head in his hands. “But it still hurts, you know?”

“Yeah I know Danno,” Steve sighs, patting his partner on the back.

They sit in comfortable silence, listening to the ocean. Steve starts thinking about being a kid again, and what it meant to do stupid things as a teenager.

“You remember the first time you got drunk?” Steves asks.

“I do, as a matter of fact,” Danny replies, peeking at Steve through the hands that are still holding his head up.

“I don’t,” Steve says matter-of-factly. “But I do remember the next day. You know as well as I do that when Gracie wakes up tomorrow that’s all the punishment she’s gonna need.”

Danny starts laughing and sits back in the chair. His laughter dies and he looks sad again. “My poor baby girl.”

“If it’s anything as bad as my first hangover, she might not touch the stuff again until college,” Steve says with a laugh.

Danny turns his head to Steve, wearing a look like he’s chewing on something that tastes good but has gotten stuck in his teeth. “Thank you,” he says earnestly.

“Ahhh for what?” Steve says, trying to dismiss the emotion building between them with a wave of his hand.

“For taking care of my little girl Steve,” Danny says. “It means the world to me.”

Steve smiles. “Who says I did it for you?” he jokes, and then gets serious himself. “Gracie means a lot to me too you know.”

“Yeah, I know, you big marshmallow.” And Danny's smiling.

They sit back listening to the ocean, and drift off to sleep waiting for Grace to wake up in misery.

**Author's Note:**

> I know I know... this ends very abruptly... but it was supposed to be a little one-shot and it's already 2,500 words... maybe one day I'll know what to stick at the end and I'll come back and wrap it up a little better. Sorry!!!
> 
> I should also mention that I NEVER write in this tense... so I'm really out of practice with it... but that's just how this story came out... so please please PLEASE let me know if you found tense issues so I can fix them.


End file.
